Kelvin Grady Transfers
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"Kelvin has asked for his release from the program and we will grant that to him," said Beilein. "Over the last two years, he has been a positive influence in helping build the foundation of our program. He is a wonderful young man on and off the floor. We wish him nothing but success in the future."
The writing was on the wall when David Merritt kept getting playing time over Grady. For whatever reason, Beilein would rather have gargled windex than play him, so he made the obvious move.
Effects for next year:
- Darius Morris has virtually no competition for the starting point guard slot.
- Uh… and there's no backup point guard with the walk-ons graduating. Stu Douglass? Laval Lucas-Perry?
- Michigan now has a third scholarship for the 2010 class. The class could grow to five if Anthony Wright isn't offered a fifth year—which was a near-certainty until the first half of the Oklahoma game—and Manny Harris leaves after his junior season.
Given Michigan's need for a big, Manny-Deshawn-replacing 2010 class this is probably a net benefit for the team long term. In the short term, Grady's absence puts the onus squarely on Morris.
It is tough to lose Grady, but I'm not going to second-guess the kid's decision because I certainly don't know the circumstances that precipitated this move. I wish him the best.
That said, I don't see this being a major hit to the team beyond the depth chart. As others have pointed out, Manny is capable of handling the bulk of the ball handling in the half court, and LLP and Morris are competent players that can fit into this offense. It wasn't like last year's team was stacked at the PG spot, and this team still made it to the second round of the NCAA tournament. Beilein can coach, and should be able to compensate with the players he has waiting in the wings. Grady was a blur on offense, but he would likely remain a liability on defense, and his shooting was too inconsistent for this offense, and I think he would have lost his job to LLP or Morris by the mid-point of the season anyway. The team will need to find someone to fill the 10-15 minutes he would have taken up off the bench, but I don't see this being a huge hit.
Grady had amazing physical talent and was starting to put it together mentally. I agree with those that said he could have been coached to make better decisions and play better D. He could have been an amazing point for M.
Starting freshmen point guards AAAARRRRGGGGHHHHHHHH
The ups and downs are worse than a freshman QB, IMO. A QB can be more easily protected by playcalling and doesn't have to play defense. A freshman PG can all at once be unexpectedly brilliant and inexplicably horrible. I hope Beilein can find a way to keep the pressure off of Morris.
I can see Manny being used as a sort of point-shooting guard next year. Morris or LLP takes the ball up the court and puts the play in motion but Manny makes the decisions on who's going to end up with the shot. That sort of happens now anyway, but more so if Morris is on the floor.
Blogging the once-resurgent Virginia Cavaliers at http://fromoldvirginia.blogspot.com.
Manny is our de facto point guard in the halfcourt set. Lee and Merritt were really only PGs on defense and when we needed to bring the ball up. We did not run most of our offense through them. I'm not that concerned. I don't know what kind of a defender Morris is, but then, Merritt really didn't D up much himself.
I kinda think Grady is making a mistake, he has ability and skill, he needed to put D. first and the playing time would be there. He is leaving an up and coming team with nobody in front of him. All Grady has to do is look at C J Lee and what he persevered through and how rewarding it was for him. It seems he is giving up the battle to a freshman without a fight. Surprising
am i the only one kind of upset that he left?
while i didn't care for his defense, or shot-taking decisions at times - he was the best ball handler & most capable of breaking a press.
decision making and defensive effort can be coached - speed and handles can't. i thought he was great at driving in the lane and kicking it out. just couldn't finish at the rim consistently enough to compensate for his defensive shortcomings.
i thought next year that maybe it would all click for him, and the defensive effort would come with some off-season maturity.
i wish him the best wherever he lands.
I have a hard time believing that LLP will struggle with his shot as much next year as he did this season. He should be solid off the bench at the 1 or 2. Stu will also need to play a lot more PG, and am confident he can handle it.
I want to applaud Beilein for his comment. It praised Grady at every turn, and I believe that he'll appreciate the gesture. Simply put, it was just the right way to handle it, and that's something that doesn't happen enough in today's D1 sporting world.
Lest we forget, Tim McCormick said LLP would be the best point guard at Michigan since Rumeal Robinson...
Jay Klein
BSE '82, MSE '83
I respect Tim McCormick but I am not so high LLP. I guess Jalen and Horton were 2 guards? What was Jamal Crawford he was sensational in his 2 minutes at M
It was a long time ago and my memories from that era are a little hazy, but from what I recall Crawford brought the ball up the court and ran the offense. He also jacked up about 30 shots per game and was a black hole. But man, could that kid play ball.
I'm just wondering, how essential a true PG is to the Beilein offense? Obviously it must carry some importance, since Morris is seen as Beilein's biggest recruit thus far, but the offense seemed to operate well with Douglass handling the ball up court, and I've got confidence LLP can do the same. Morris, by the way, had a big time senior season.
we won't miss his D or his 3pt shooting or is ability to finish at the rim. soooo... is there a loss of any kind here? other than a fine young citizen, of course.
Harvard: The MICHIGAN of the East
We're not arrogant, we're just better.
was pretty good. Just over 36%, 2nd on the team to CJ Lee.
Eric Puls lead the team in 3 point shooting percentage at 75%. Don't dis the Puls.
In such a cynical, sarcastic society, oftentimes looking for the negative on anybody or anything, if you're fortunate enough to spend five minutes or 20 minutes around Tim Tebow, your life is better for it.
-Thom Brennaman
I think you may be under-estimating LLP. I think he will do fine as a back-up PG or maybe even as the starter if Morris takes some time to learn the offense. No worries.
or uh, Duder, or El Duderino if you're not into the whole brevity thing.